


Lifelines

by Whisper132



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-21
Updated: 2008-01-21
Packaged: 2017-10-23 13:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/250625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whisper132/pseuds/Whisper132
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gojyo adjusts to his new domestic situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lifelines

Gojyo had a little bit of special in him. He wasn't making ki blasts or turning into a crazyass every time someone stole his magical tiara, but he had a trick or two up his sleeves.

"You're sure you don't mind?" Hakkai moved his bag into the bedroom with slow steps, not because the small duffel was burdensome, but because he seemed determined to offer Gojyo at least nine opportunities to kick him out per room.

"Put your shit down and stop asking stupid questions." Had Gojyo wanted to kick Hakkai out, he would've done it when the bastard monk knocked his door down. Or perhaps when the gods nabbed Gonou and changed his name to Hakkai.

Or when that pervy hag winked at him and his nether regions were non-functional for a week. Goddess of Mercy his ass.

If Gojyo didn't ditch Hakkai for that, then giving up a little drawer space wasn't a big deal. Convincing Hakkai of that was another matter.

"I'll cook, then. It's the least I can do." Hakkai smiled too much. His current smile was the same one he wore when he appeared before that pervy goddess of mojo-stealing and her friends.

"Tell you what, you unpack and I'll make lunch." Gojyo winked because his winks made girls blush and the softer-sided guys relax. Killing a thousand youkai with your bare hands wasn't usually part of a softer-side, but Gojyo had a feeling it would work on Hakkai anyway.

And he was right.

"I'll put these away, then. Thank you. For everything."

Hakkai's real smiles were kinda cute. He'd probably blush really nicely, too. Humming to himself, Gojyo set about making a lunch of leftovers and wine. Wine went with everything.

  
*****

  
When Gojyo awoke the next morning, Hakkai was cooking breakfast. From what Gojyo could smell, there were waffles and sausage, maybe some eggs.

There was also, he noted upon entering the kitchen, an irate farmer tied to a chair and gagged.

"Good morning, Gojyo." Hakkai turned from the stove with a pan of grease and sausage in one hand, a spatula in another. "This gentleman tried to break in while I was mixing the waffle batter. Do you know him? He said you impregnated his daughter and he's come to kill you."

"Uh…" Gojyo scanned the farmer for familiar features. Usually a girl had to be naked before he could identify her by name, but there was this one girl a month ago with a big nose. Maybe this guy was her dad. "Sorry man, it probably wasn't me." A lot of babies in town were blamed on him until they were birthed with normal human hair and not the heretic red that was his trademark. The babies wouldn't ever turn up, either, not even if he found a girl he really liked. Gojyo was sterile as an alcohol swab.

The man in the chair rocked against his bonds, nearly tipping himself over. Hakkai gave him a none too gentle kick to the shin. "I knew it would all work out," he said, returning the pan to the stove. "I'll take him outside and release him. Would you watch breakfast?"

"Yeah, I guess." Without his morning smoke, Gojyo was still a little confused as to what was going on. He stood next to the stove, stirring the sausage around, and reached into the container marked _Sugar_ , where he kept his While I'm Cooking smokes.

He was more than a bit surprised to find the bowl full of sugar.

  
*****

  
When the shitty monk sent word that the gods were ordering them on a journey, Gojyo was prepared. Two weeks prior, Hakkai vanished into the forest and returned with a white dragon on his shoulder. The dragon slept between them on the bed – they shared because it was cheaper than buying a new bed and because they were kinda friends so it wasn't weird. While Hakuryu nestled his head in the crook of Hakkai's neck, he took extra care to make sure his ass was pressing against the side of Gojyo's face, no matter how many times Gojyo moved the little dragon around.

"Hakuryu says Sanzo and Goku have run into some trouble," Hakkai said, shoving the last of his things into a duffel. "Should we go help them?"

What Hakkai really meant to say was _hurry your lazy ass up, Gojyo. You only need two pair of pants, not ten, especially when they're all the same._

"They're fine," Gojyo said. "That bastard won't die, even if you put a stake through his heart."

Hakkai's tapping foot said he didn't find the joke funny in the slightest, which was a shame. The Vampire Sanzo jokes were some of Gojyo's favorites.

"Are you done?" Hakkai stood in the doorway with both his and Gojyo's bags. "Hakuryu will take us to the area."

"Goody."

And the shitty monk probably wouldn't give them so much as a thank you for saving his sorry ass.

  
****

  
While on the road, Gojyo was forced to baby-sit Sanzo's monkey. All the kid did was eat and sleep and eat. At first, Gojyo was hoping to impart some of his worldly wisdom on Goku, but the kid was never going to get laid. Ever. Some women went for the short kind, but only sickos went for someone who looked a few months past 14, and Gojyo doubted that Goku, being hundreds of thousands of years old, was into the teen scene.

The only good part of traveling with Sanzo and his one boy zoo was the smoke-friendly environment. It only took Hakkai a week to give up his lectures on the evils of smoking. And, now that Gojyo thought about it, sharing a seat or a room with the monkey wasn't as bad as having the dragon's ass next to his head every night. Still, there was a quiet, homey element Gojyo missed. Maybe they'd get to this "West" soon and he and Hakkai could go back home. And leave the dragon in the forest.

Gojyo's musing were interrupted by a line of youkai on the horizon.

"But we haven't had breakfast yet," Goku grumbled as he stretched out the soreness that came with sleeping in the uncomfortable Jeep. "Sanzoooo! Tell them to come back later."

In the rearview mirror, Gojyo saw Hakkai's smile and fastened his seatbelt. It looked like Hakkai didn't want to stop, either.

  
*****

Being eviscerated really took the fun out of your day. Being eviscerated by what looked like a fourth grader didn't help much, either.

"Please don't move." Hakkai's smooth voice washed over the fog of pain, soothing Gojyo back to semi-sleep. In his partial lucidity, he felt the warmth in his torn stomach as ki flowed through the tissues, encouraging them to mend. He felt hands moving lightly up and down his sides, like a mother would caress a sick child – well, not _his_ mother, but she was a special case.

"Sleep, Gojyo. You'll feel better tomorrow." Lips brushed across his forehead and he could feel something prick into his skin. A hand swept over his forehead and he was asleep before he could think on it more.

  
****

"Hakkai's scary," Goku whispered while the monk and Hakkai were off buying snacks. "Tell him never to take his limiters off again."

"You've got room to talk." He bopped the kid on the head. 'Hakkai's fine. Leave him alone."

Goku looked about ready to argue, but dropped the subject when their two missing party members walked up, bags in hand.

"You get me any smokes?" Gojyo's cigarettes had mysteriously vanished when that crazyass tried to remove his pancreas. The extras he kept in his knapsack also vanished, but only because Hakkai 'thought they had expired.'

"I thought you were re-evaluating your health choices in light of your recent near-death experience," Sanzo said with one eye on Hakkai.

"It's a good choice to be making, Gojyo. We're proud of you."

Instead of dealing with Hakkai and his victory smile, Gojyo hopped out of the car and began the walk to town.

"We leave in an hour," Sanzo said. "We'll leave without you."

After a few months, Gojyo believed in Sanzo's threats only slightly less than he believed in Santa. "See you for dinner," he said, waving over his shoulder.

Behind him, he heard Hakkai sigh.

  
*****

  
There was little better in life than a game of poker, a stack of chips five times the size of anyone else's, and five women attached to you, cooing useless crap in your ear while their boyfriends lost all their hard earned money.

Screw the West; he was staying _here._ At least he was staying until the fights started, which wouldn't be for at least another couple of hours. "Another beer!" he called, knowing his voice was a bit slurred but that the bartender would know what he wanted and keep bringing the drinks so long as the chips continued to slide toward Gojyo's end of the table. He had another seven beers yet until he was too drunk to function, maybe even eight if all the crap food he was eating on the road was strengthening his stomach.

The beauty in his lap lit up a cigarette for him and he knew he was in Heaven.

"There he is." Judging from the pissy tone, it was Sanzo.

"Where is his hand touching?" Gojyo would have to give the monkey The Talk after all. If he didn't understand what Gojyo's hand was doing, something was wrong with his upbringing.

"You two can go back to the car. I'll take care of this."

Nothing sobered Gojyo up faster than Hakkai, clearly annoyed and clearly about to show his nasty side.

"Uh, ladies, I'll be going now." On unsteady feet Gojyo took his winnings and changed them out. "If I’m in town again, I'll call you." He blew a few kisses and wobbled out the door that Hakkai held open for him. "Man, I could've really scored tonight, y'know?" It'd been a really long time since they stayed anywhere long enough for Gojyo to enjoy some female company. What good were irresistible pheromones if he never got to use them?

"How unfortunate. My apologies. Should I have left you?" Hakkai's grip on his wrist was cutting off the circulation to Gojyo's fingers.

"Nah." Gojyo's shoulders slumped down and he leaned onto Hakkai, allowing the other man to help guide him down the increasingly wobbly street. "Hey Hakkai?"

"Gojyo."

"Hold on for a sec. I really gotta pee." While Gojyo relieved himself in some lady's flower garden, Hakkai waited to guide his friend back to the car, humming quietly to himself.

  
*****

  
Gojyo didn't get hangovers. Part of his phenomenal biology equipped him for nights of deep drunkenness with no repercussions. Of course that meant that Gojyo was always sober when Hakkai berated him for tarnishing the group's dignity. Gojyo figured that traveling with a gun wielding monk didn't warrant much dignity, but he wisely kept his commentary to himself.

"If you're going to be lewd, at least do so behind closed doors."

"Aw, but it's only fun being lewd if people are there to see it." Later, Gojyo would say that his state of sobriety was imparing his fight-or-flight responses and making him stupid. "See, if I put my hand here and nobody sees, then only you an' me get the benefit." He removed his hand from Hakkai's pants. "Don't you think it's better to share the fun a little?"

When you put your hand down another guy's pants, the fist to the face is inevitable. Still, Hakkai didn't need to hit so hard.

"I'll have Goku come get you when breakfast is ready." The sharpness in Hakkai's eye promised pain if Gojyo said another word, so he just nodded and sat back in bed.

  
****

  
Normal people, having felt a guy up, probably forgot about it and moved on with life. Gojyo was not one of those normal people. He found himself obsessing over his exploratory grope, wondering if Hakkai thought it meant something or whether Gojyo really did mean something and was relying on his post-drunken clarity to give him courage enough to admit to it.

Also, part of him was happy that , from the feel of things, he was winning over Hakkai where it counted and, hey, he may not have the brains but he at least was Mother Nature's favored son.

"What are you grinning at, idiot?"

Rooming with Sanzo sucked. Generally Hakkai handled Sanzo's moods, but for the last three towns Hakkai grabbed Goku's arm and stole away the moment they checked in.

"Whatever the Hell you've done, tell Hakkai you're sorry so we can have some peace." Sanzo lit up and stared moodily out the window. "And stop smoking cheap cigarettes that smell like crap. He's even nagging _me_ now." The blazing show of concern must've worn Sanzo out because he closed his eyes and reclined against the wall, hand bringing the smoke to his mouth in a programmed motion.

He could tell the monk and be safe. "I felt him up," Gojyo admitted.

"I'm not your damn confessional." Sanzo opened an eye and Gojyo swore he heard the monk mumble, "about damn time."

"I'm not confessing anything, just filling you in." Lighting his own cigarette up, Gojyo took a moment to enjoy his first lungful. "I was thinkin'– "

"Doubtful."

" –that I'd talk to him about it tomorrow, smartass." Gojyo blew a cloud of smoke in Sanzo's direction and the two were silent until Sanzo's stick burned out.

"Do whatever it takes to clear this mess up before we leave tomorrow night," the monk grumbled. "I don’t' have time to deal with your emotional crap. I have a world to save."

"Yes, Sanzo-sama."

"Shove it."

"Really?"

The bullet that grazed Gojyo's ear was expected and oddly comforting.

  
*****

  
The good news was that his guts were in place this time. The bad news was that his left leg was more or less a mangle of bone and flesh; it hurt so badly he couldn't open his mouth to call for help because all that would come out was an unintelligible scream. He was in a basement, prone on the floor after a few bottles of courage wine and a rendezvous with a wobbly step. His pose wasn't the most attractive, but his hair was still in place so he was hoping some nice girl – not the teenage daughter of the innkeeper – found him and gave him some comfort.

"You looking for snacks, too?"

Or Goku could find him, making everything 100% worse. Closing his eyes, Gojyo pretended to be dead.

"Hey, I'm talkin' to…oh. That looks like it hurts. Does it?" Goku's voice was drawing closer.

Gojyo opened his eyes and glared at the kid. Channeling all his strength, he managed to unclench his fists enough to give Goku the finger.

"I'll go get Hakkai." With a snicker – the damn monkey might not look like it, but he was pretty damn perceptive – Goku skipped off.

Before Gojyo could pass out from the pain, Hakkai ran in, flying down the stairs and dropping to Gojyo's side. "Oh Gojyo," he sighed. "This will hurt a bit, I'm afraid."

As Hakkai reset his leg, Gojyo vomited to the side. Normally he could take a beating and not complain a bit, but great pain on a stomach full of alcohol was a completely different matter.

"If you would refrain from drinking so much this wouldn't happen," Hakkai chided. He threw a rag over Gojyo's vomit and tried to help his friend up.

Meanwhile, Gojyo decided that Hakkai was nice and warm, like a big green teddy bear. "I'm drunk," he said when Hakkai shifted in protest. "Indulge me."

Gojyo did not expect the extent of the comfort Hakkai was willing to offer.

  
*****

He was sore, not from the busted leg, but from the bruises on his arms. Hakkai had a mean grip on him, probably from driving the car over rough terrain.

"Would you mind refilling the water bottle?" Hakkai had it worse, though. It was he and not Gojyo who was forced to sit on hot pad after hot pad in the vain hope that hitting the road that afternoon wouldn't suck royally.

Gojyo brought Hakkai a new hot water bottle and sat on the edge of the bed. "So, uh, I was thinkin' maybe you shouldn't room with that shitty monk anymore."

Hakkai held his arms out and Gojyo fumbled up to sit in their embrace. "I was also thinking it would be unkind to expose Goku to any more of your misguided wisdom."

"Hey, I give good advice."

"…"

"Just 'cuz I don't follow it myself doesn't mean it ain't good." Gojyo pulled a cigarette from the night stand and lit up.

"Gojyo…"

Rolling his eyes, Gojyo took his cigarette to the window. It was just until Hakkai got better, then he'd go back to his lecherous, misbehaving ways. Really.


End file.
